Ukraine

Ukraine, one of the largest countries in Europe, is a unitary semi-presidential republic, having achieved its independence with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Public protests demanding closer ties with the European Union and the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych began in late 2013, leading to widespread civil unrest and, ultimately, revolution in 2014. Russia, prompted by counter-revolutionary sentiment in the Crimean Peninsula, staged a military intervention and subsequently annexed the region in a move largely condemned by the international community. Fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists has continued despite domestic and international efforts to de-escalate the crisis.

Learn more about Ukraine. Scroll below to view our archive of articles and chronology of latest news.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 31, 2015

Many Russian galleries and museums are attempting to recast country's history in positive light, dismissing negative impressions as defamation by foreigners; several exhibits present Russia as having long been under attack, glorify military actions and draw parallels to current events, including country's involvement in Ukraine. MORE

Mar. 26, 2015

Avdiivka Journal; workers at Avdiivka Coke and Steel Plant in Ukraine have persisted in returning to work every day, despite frequent artillery fire, periodic blackouts and deaths of five colleagues in country's civil war; plants' furnaces would suffer prohibitively costly damage if allowed to idle, and plant is vital to Ukraine's steel industry and whole economy. MORE

Mar. 26, 2015

Ukrainian authorities arrest senior government officials Sergiy Bochkovsky and Vasyl Stoyetsky during televised cabinet meeting in spectacle meant to lend weight to country's newly aggressive anticorruption campaign; Bochkovsky and Stoyetsky will be charged with embezzlement and other abuses. MORE

Mar. 25, 2015

DealBook Online; Ukraine says holders of Ukrainian bonds should expect to lose some of their principal in negotiations with government. MORE

Mar. 24, 2015

Ukrainian Pres Petro O Poroshenko clashes with Ihor V Kolomoysky, billionaire governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, over control of state-owned energy companies; orders arrests of armed men, supposedly loyal to Kolomoysky, who have occupied offices of energy companies; several members of parliament quit Poroshenko's party in apparent retaliation. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Russian Pres Vladimir Putin holds rally and concert in Moscow to celebrate first anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea; at same time, Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine warn that fragile cease-fire there is at risk because Ukrainian government has not moved quickly enough to grant them political autonomy. MORE

Mar. 13, 2015

Ukraine villagers say they saw missile just before Malaysian airliner was shot down in July 2014, challenging Russian claims that plane was shot down by Ukraine's military. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

International Monetary Fund's board approves $17.5 billion loan to Ukraine, with $10 billion to be pumped into its troubled economy over the next year; loan is part of larger four-year bailout that will also include expected $15.4 billion in debt relief. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

Pres Obama is privately indicating that despite increasing pressure from both parties to send military aid to Ukraine, he remains reluctant to do so; Democrats join Republicans on Senate Foreign Relations Committee in urging administration to arm country. MORE

Mar. 10, 2015

Russian Pres Vladimir Putin, in clip from upcoming documentary film Homeward Bound, says planning for annexation of Crimean peninsula began weeks before Crimean referendum; comments contradict his earlier claims that referendum was main reason for military intervention. MORE

Mar. 9, 2015

European Council Pres Donald Tusk is set to meet with Pres Obama to discuss crisis in Ukraine and how to handle Russia. MORE

Mar. 5, 2015

Mar. 3, 2015

United Nations report finds Russian influx of troops and heavy weaponry is intensifying Ukrainian-Russian conflict and increasing casualties with 6000 having died since April 2014 start of war; notes at least 842 people died from mid-January 2015 to mid-February; United States and Russia meet to discuss possible consequences of reported cease-fire violations by Russia. MORE

Mar. 1, 2015

Memo From Europe; Germany, often uncomfortable with leadership, is at center of crises over Ukraine and Greece; country has so far failed in effort to revive Minsk cease-fire deal with Russia over Ukraine and arrogant tone of German Finance Min Wolfgang Schauble in chastising Greece over its plea for a new debt deal may come back to haunt Berlin. MORE

Feb. 28, 2015

Russian fuel company Gazprom backs off on demands that Ukraine pay for natural gas it is sending to separatist rebels in Donbass region; Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz pays $15 million in hope that gas supply to country will not be cut off before upcoming round of talks. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Ukrainian military announces that it will pull back artillery from area around Debaltseve, which is held by separatist fighters. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta publishes document it claims is memo drafted in weeks before collapse of Ukrainian government and presented to presidential administration; document reportedly recommended Russia exploit instability in Ukraine to take control of Crimea and portion of southeastern Ukraine; Russian government calls memo hoax. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Gazprom chief executive Aleksei B Miller warns Ukraine it could run out of natural gas within two days due to payment disagreement; bitter feud over gas payments has been part of wider political dispute between Russia and Ukraine over past year. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

United Nations-mandated cease-fire monitors want more drones and radar systems for their mission in Ukraine conflict with Russian-backed separatists. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Ukrainian separatists celebrate after taking control of strategic city Debaltseve; victory was accomplished with help of regular Russian troops and in spite of cease-fire agreement, which rebel leaders say only applied to front lines; leaders promise to adhere to truce going forward. MORE

Feb. 23, 2015

Violence spreads in eastern Ukraine, even as Russian-back rebel group says it will start moving heavy weapons away from front lines. MORE

Feb. 22, 2015

Sec of State John Kerry meets with British Foreign Sec Philip Hammond to discuss imposing additional, more serious sanctions against Russia over Ukraine crisis. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

House of Lords subcommittee condemns Britain and European Union for handling of crisis in Ukraine; say Europe failed to appreciate importance of Ukraine's relationship with Russia and that Britain did not live up to obligations in 1994 Budapest Memorandum. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

Remaining residents of Ukranian town of Debaltseve, few in number, emerge from hiding after Russian-backed separatists take control of city and shelling stops; search for food and shelter among ruins and uncollected bodies. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Ukrainian soldiers retreating from conflict in eastern Ukraine flood town Artemivsk, bringing tales of violence, incompetent leadership and bad conditions; none of the provisions of peace accord forged in Minsk, Belarus, have been observed according to agreement's terms and deadline. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

Ukrainian soldiers, after battling heavy enemy fire from pro-Russian separatists, retreat from strategic town of Debaltseve, Ukraine, with major losses in both weapons and troops; Ukrainian Pres Petro O Poroshenko attempts to reframe defeat, saying he ordered forces out, but many wonder whether rebels' success after violating days-old cease-fire is sign that war is not likely to end soon. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

Ukrainian Army and Russian-backed militants say street battles continue in railroad town of Debaltseve, despite cease-fire truce; conflicting reports exist; up to 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers are in city. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

As many as 8,000 Ukrainian troops remain stranded near city of Debaltseve due to separatist control of key roadway; situation puts further strain on already fragile peace agreement; Ukraine will apply for diplomatic pressure on Russia to convince separatists to open the road. MORE

Feb. 16, 2015

Artillery fire breaks out near disputed town of Debaltseve, Ukraine, on first day of cease-fire between Ukrainian Army and pro-Russian separatists, but truce is observed elsewhere in country; fighting is centered around besieged stretch of road into town that is otherwise surrounded by separatist forces. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

European-brokered cease-fire goes into effect in Ukraine, but is threatened when Pro-Russian rebel leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko argues it does not apply to contested Debaltseve, key town that has been scene of intense fighting. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

United States accuses Russia of participating in separatist rebel assault on Ukrainian forces around town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine; comes as fighting flares in region ahead of negotiated cease-fire; ramped-up violence underscores concerns that cease-fire will be as fleeting as earlier pacts; Russia denies involvement. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Ukraine's pro-Western government in Kiev needs billions more than $17.5 billion promised by International Monetary Fund, as those funds will not cover expense of rebuilding nation's factories, once sustained by Russian contracts or subsidies; ravaged by war and history of Soviet mismanagement and corruption, Ukraine's economy is deteriorating faster than Western aid can help it. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Spokesman for Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin denies there was ever any agreement to free Ukrainian helicopter pilot Nadiya V Savchenko, even as State Department insists Russia agreed to her release as part of Minsk negotiations to free all war prisoners. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany reach new peace agreement over Ukraine's nearly year-old war following marathon negotiations in Minsk, Belarus; Obama administration temporarily shelves plans to provide military aid to Ukraine as it waits to see whether peace is respected; some leaders express cautious optimism, while others say latest accord merely papers over decisive issues at core of conflict. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

International Monetary Fund reaches agreement with Ukraine on $17.5 billion bailout to help stabilize its economy. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Ukrainian Pres Petro O Poroshenk says that as part of Ukraine cease-fire deal, Russia will release Ukrainian military lieutenant Nadiya V Savchenko. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Editorial contends cease-fire deal brokered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Pres Francois Hollande in Minks, Belarus, while far from ideal, offers glimmer of hope for ending conflict in Ukraine; holds Russian Pres won far more concessions in negotiations than his behavior has warranted; urges Western leaders to hold Putin to agreement reached in Minsk. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

News Analysis; European leaders gathered in Minsk, Belarus, to discuss Ukrainian conflict acknowledge that, despite his country's economic woes, Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin holds upper hand because he is willing to use military force to get what he wants; other leaders seeking cease-fire are bound by effort to use diplomacy in negotiations. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

Viktor V Medvedchuk, longtime friend of Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin, is negotiating on behalf of Ukrainian Pres Petro O Poroshenko in talks aimed at ending conflict in eastern Ukraine; some argue that Medvedchuk's experience and potential for easing conflict outweigh his alliances and history of ruthless behavior, but others disagree. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Pres Francois Hollande, Russian Pres Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Pres Petro Poroshenko meet in Belarus for lengthy, 10-hour talks over conflict in Ukraine; negotiators remain tight-lipped about proceedings, and some fear that talks will yield little more progress than past efforts. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

Ukrainian conflict is coming to focus on Mariupol, government-controlled port city that forms main impediment to rebel goal of clearing land route between Russia and Crimea; citizens are bracing themselves for takeover attempt seen by many as inevitable. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Pres Obama, appearing at joint news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, signals that he will await outcome of peace talks before deciding whether to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine in struggle against Russian aggression; choice would represent significant break with European allies who oppose providing arms. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Serge Schmemann Editorial Observer explores scene at Munich Security Conference, where European and American leaders discussed issue of how best to help Ukraine counter Russia's aid to rebels; notes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who prefers negotiation over military aid, urged United States not to supply Ukraine with lethal arms; says what was most remarkable was consensus that Russia's actions in Ukraine are unacceptable. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

Debaltseve is central eye of fighting in eastern Ukraine, as Russian-backed rebels seek to take battered railroad hub; there has been no electric power, tap water or heat for days, and many residents have fled city. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

Memo from Munich; Sen John McCain and German Chancellor Angela Merkel disagree at Munich security conference on arming Ukrainian troops to oppose Russian aggression; crisis has reignited familiar differences over tactics, born of opposing lessons from Cold War with Soviet Union. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

German Chancellor Angela Merkel at security conference in Munich calls for continued efforts to persuade Russia and separatist forces to cease fire in Ukraine; says providing Kiev with more weapons will only lead to more victims. MORE

Feb. 7, 2015

Dire humanitarian problem in eastern Ukraine caused by conflict between government forces and Russian-backed rebels that has displaced scores of people is poised to become full-blown crisis with harshest weeks of winter looming; Ukrainian government has moved to isolate region due to rebel advance, which has left refugees with little food, medicine or other resources. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Western leaders have begun concerted push to achieve diplomacy and end fighting in eastern Ukraine, driven by increased violence there; effort to restore truce accord begun in September 2014 has been complicated by deep distrust of Russia's aims and accusations of spying; United States' decision on whether to arm Ukrainian forces had been muddled by murky lines between Russian and Ukrainian militaries. MORE

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